Today’s Wall Street Journaleditorial (behind the paywall) touting the economic benefits of immigration is being cited favorably by both Democrats and Republicans, reports the Washington Post’s Greg Sargent. The WSJ predicts an immigration-driven windfall of $4.6 trillion for the Social Security Trust Fund over the next 75 years, helping to stabilize the program.

Sargent says the editorial limns the fierce internal battle between “pro-reform” and anti-reform Republicans, “the more pragmatic, business-aligned wing of the party against those playing to a nativist base that appears unwilling to let the party evolve.” He quotes Frank Sharry, head of immigration advocacy group America’s Voice:

“It’s sort of like the reformers versus the racists,” Sharry says. “It’s the people who want to modernize the party — really and in fact — versus the people who want it to remain a xenophobic, increasingly marginalized whites-only party.”

“That’s a harsh assessment indeed,” comments Sargent, “and there are certainly opponents of reform who do not fall into that latter camp.”

It’s swell of Sargent to note that there may in fact be a handful of people who oppose, say, the bloated immigration reform bill currently up in the Senate who are not nativist bigots.